January 2, 2017

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Kathy Fincham!

525 years ago
1492

World events
Muhammad XI, leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain, surrendered to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.

240 years ago
1777

War
Continental Army forces under the command of General George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

100 years ago
1917

Business
The Royal Bank of Canada took over the Québec Bank, founded in 1882.

75 years ago
1942

War
Japanese forces captured Manila. 33 members of the Duquesne Spy Ring-- a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne--were convicted in the largest espionage case in American history.

60 years ago
1957

At the movies
Four Girls in Town, written and directed by Jack Sher, and starring George Nader, Julie Adams, Marianne Cook, Elsa Martinelli, and Gia Scala, received its premiere screening in Hollywood.



Died on this date
John C. Bowen, 84. Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, 1937-1950. Mr. Bowen, a native of Metcalfe, Ontario, was a Baptist pastor before entering local and provincial politics. He was an alderman in Edmonton, and led the Alberta Liberal Party from March-June 1926. Mr. Bowen was installed as Lieutenant-Governor on March 23, 1937, succeeding Philip Primrose, who had died in office six days earlier. Mr. Bowen was best known for refusing royal assent to three bills passed by the Social Credit government of Premier William Aberhart, until the bills' constitutionality could be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court of Canada ruled the legislation to be unconstitutional. The Aberhart government responded by forcing Mr. Bowen out of his official residence at Government House in Edmonton. Mr. Bowen's 13 years remain the longest time in office for any Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta.

Boxing
Gene Fullmer (38-3) won a 15-round unanimous decision over Sugar Ray Robinson (139-5-2) at Madison Square Garden in New York to win the world middleweight title.



50 years ago
1967

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Black is Black--Los Bravos (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones (5th week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 I'm a Believer--The Monkees (2nd week at #1)
2 Mellow Yellow--Donovan
3 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen
4 Mustang Sally--Wilson Pickett
5 A Place in the Sun--Stevie Wonder
6 Sugar Town--Nancy Sinatra
7 Mame--Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
8 Talk Talk--The Music Machine
9 That's Life--Frank Sinatra
10 Stop Stop Stop--The Hollies

Singles entering the chart were How Do You Catch a Girl by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs (#91); It's Now Winter's Day by Tommy Roe (#92); The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine by Gerry and the Pacemakers (#93); Just One Smile by Gene Pitney (#94); But it's Alright by J.J. Jackson (#96); Wack Wack by the Young-Holt Trio (#97); Green, Green Grass of Home by Tom Jones (#98); Day Tripper by Ramsey Lewis (#99); and Gallant Men by Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (#100).

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley, on BBC Light Programme
Tonight's episode: The Dying Detective

War
The three-day truce in Vietnam ended; the United States reported that Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces had violated the cease-fire 178 times.

Politics and government
Ronald Reagan took office as Governor of California.

40 years ago
1977

Died on this date
Erroll Garner, 55. U.S. musician. Mr. Garner was a jazz pianist and composer who performed and recorded as a solo artist and with others from childhood until his death from emphysema-related cardiac arrest. He was best known for his composition Misty, written as an instrumental in 1954, with lyrics added later by Johnny Burke.

Hockey
Canadian junior-U.S.S.R. (exhibition)
Western Canada Hockey League 11 U.S.S.R. 1

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Harekrushna Mahatab, 87. Indian politician. Mr. Mahatab began acting on behalf of Indian independence from British rule in the 1920s, and was a member of the Indian National Congress Party until 1966. He was Chief Minister of Odisha (1946-1950, 1956-1961) and Governor of Bombay (1955-1956), and represented the Odisha ridings of Cuttack (1952-1955) and Deogarth (1962-1967) in the Lok Sabha. Mr. Mahatab joined the Orissa Jane Congress in 1967, and served three terms in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

War
Forces of Chadian President Hissen Habre attacked and captured the oasis town of Fada, reportedly killing several hundred Libyan soldiers during the advance. The thrust carried the Chadians north of the 16th parallel, which had divided Chad into a northern sector controlled by Libya and a southern sector controlled by the government of Chad, which was supported by France.

Football
NCAA
Fiesta Bowl @ Glendale, Arizona
Pennsylvania State 14 Miami (Florida) 10

The Nittany Lions intercepted Hurricanes' quarterback Vinny Testaverde 5 times as Penn State, under head coach Joe Paterno, won its second national championship in five years.



25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are the Days of Our Lives--Queen (3rd week at #1)

World events
Leaders of armed opposition declared President Zviad Gamsakhurdia deposed during a military coup in Georgia.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Denmark (Nielsen Music Control & IFPI): Roses are Red--Aqua (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Anna mulle piiskaa--Apulanta (3rd week at #1)

Protest
13 inmates and several guards were injured in a riot at Alberta's Drumheller Institution.

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Teddy Kollek, 95. Hungarian-born Israeli politician. Mr. Kollek, born Kollek Tivadar, moved with his family to Vienna in 1918 and to Mandatory Palestine in 1935. He worked with the Jewish Agency in the 1940s as a liaison officer, aiding British authorities in opposing the Irgun and Stern Gang terrorist organizations. Mr. Kollek was director general of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's office in the 1950s, and served six consecutive terms as Mayor of Jerusalem (1965-1993), modernizing the city and pursuing peaceful relations with the city's Arab population. He reluctantly ran for a seventh term in 1993 and was defeated, but remained active in retirement.